Ultimecia's Last Stand
by Tamen47
Summary: Short and sweet. How Ultimecia perceived the last battle.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Final Fantasy 8, its characters or the story.

The rain pounded against the castle walls. Gazing nonchalantly out the window Ultimecia caught sight of the White SeeDs she had disposed of before being hurled into Time Compression. It had been a while since she had seen what she knew to be her execution squad ascending the heavy chains that connected her floating fortress to the beach. She had ordered her servants to seal their abilities though her nagging doubt knew it would result to no avail.

Her name had been written in history books since before she was born. Tales of the great sorceress and the six teenage SeeDs who traveled across space and time to defeat her were the things legends were made of. The burden of her imminent demise had loomed over her head for as long as she could remember, hardening her with time. Her face remained blank, showing none of the bitterness that flowed out of her heart and through her veins.

She could feel them getting closer, feel their ominous presence. Her servants were failing her, as she had expected they would. She let out an exasperated sigh and an ironical bark of a laugh, thinking how hard it was to find good help. The loud cry of a monster echoed up the clock tower as one of them dealt the finishing blow to her strongest follower, Omega Weapon. Her eyes were narrowed defiantly at the door in front of her. She had done all that she could of to rewrite history. In her bid for power and her ventures into the past she had attempted to prevent this impending moment, and yet...here it was...

She could sense their strength, they were closing in. Her eyes burned with indescribable hate. They were just outside the room. Her upper lip formed a distinct sneer as the door slowly creaked open...

The six SeeDs assembled at the front of the room, shoulder to shoulder. Ultimecia glanced over the features of each determined face, taking note of their youth. She scoffed at them, her empty soul rattling inside of her shell before calling out with all the menace she could muster"...SeeD...SeeD...SeeD...SeeD,SeeD,SeeD! Kurse all SeeDs. Swarming like lokust akross generations. You disgust me. The world was on the brink of that ever-elusive 'time compression.' Insolent fools! Your vain krusade ends here, SeeDs. The price of your meddling is death beyond death. I shall send you to a dimension beyond your imagining. There, I will reign, and you will be my slave for eternity!"

The battle began as the SeeDs stepped forward. Both sides fought, showing no signs of stopping until Ultimecia was surprised to find herself feeling out of breath. She stepped back and looked directly into the eyes of the leader. She searched his mind briefly before smirking at her findings.

"I now kall Griever- the strongest GF."

She summoned the entity with a flash of light bright enough to fill the space. When it cleared the large monster stood gallantly, shaking his lion-like head while beating its leathery wings. The sorceress scrutinized over the expression of the leader as he realized that the very creature that he held in such high regard was hovering in front of him in attacking stance. She felt the slightest twinge of disappointment when he continued showing no emotion.

Without missing a beat the SeeDs fought on, pummeling the guardian force until his movements became sluggish, a fact not lost on Ultimecia. With much anger she stepped forward proclaiming "I now will junction myself unto Griever"

The room around them began to dissipate, the walls became nonexistent as the group found themselves on a floating cliff. It took only a few seconds for the colossal griffin and the powerful sorceress to join as one. With weapons at the ready, the gang sprang forward. Several minutes later Ultimecia could feel Griever start to struggle. She pushed her feelings of doubt to the side as it became more and more evident that she was fighting a losing battle. One final blow was cast on Griever before the spectacular creature was defeated in a display of explosions.

The sky surrounding the floating piece of land became dark; no longer even a sky, just nothingness. She could feel her body changing and could vaguely interpret the faces of the SeeDs in what appeared to be shock. As she settled into what she knew would be her final form she drew a ragged breath before continuing the last leg of the fight.

She had underestimated them. She knew that now. No longer was she operating under any delusional attempts to change her fate. They were just too strong. Their unrelenting attacks fell upon her as her hope died slowly. Between the blows she croaked out in an ever-unwavering voice "Reflect on your childhood...your sensations...your words...Time...it will not wait. No matter how hard you hold on...it escapes you..."

Her words were twinged with resentment and directed more at herself than those who stood in front of her. In her mind she frantically ran through everything she could have done differently. She soon grew weak; her attackers showed absolutely no signs on ceasing...they weren't even winded. It was only a matter of time before a critical blow brought Ultimecia crashing to her knees.

She could hear them rustling about, shouting things to each other as the Time-Compressed world fell out from beneath them. She could feel her body being pulled by an uncontrollable force as she let herself give in to the need to pass on her powers.

After stumbling through time she found herself in an open courtyard, complete with white columns. She limped around for a moment before looking up to see a woman dressed in black standing next to the leader of the SeeDs. They were talking, though their words were indecipherable. Ultimecia mumbled something about resting in peace before transferring the festering burden of her powers to the woman standing before her.

Once her obligation as a sorceress was fulfilled she was hurled back into her own time. Her wounds were bleeding freely now, she was unable to move. Her consciousness was slipping away, her heartbeat slowing. In her last moments she found herself haunted by what she had done, who she had let herself become, and how she had the very world in her fingertips only to have it jerked away.

She thought of how everyone would be thankful of her ascension off of their plane of existence. After all, she was the tyrannical figure from whom the enslavement of the entire human race was made possible. She strained her memory in an effort to remember the last person who cared for her, or in the very least did not despise her. A single tear fell from her yellow eye onto her pale, blood-soaked face. She felt a kind of numbness crawl across her body as her shallow breathing ceased.

Ultimecia, the great sorceress who conquered lands beyond her time died a celebrated death alone as a result of her own devices.

**Author's note:** Okay, you've taken the time to read it, now review it... it'll take like five seconds, I promise!


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